Gates Chili takes a journey down 42nd Street’

Thursday

Mar 26, 2009 at 12:01 AMMar 26, 2009 at 10:06 PM

The high school is presenting the classic musical tonight, as well as Friday and Saturday.

Mike Murphy, staff writer

Peggy Sawyer is a bubbly, bright-eyed optimist and a small-town girl at heart with big aspirations, just like Erica Mini, who is playing the lead role in the Gates Chili High School production of “42nd Street.”

“Pretty much,” she laughed. “Peggy gets to dance a lot, and I’ve danced all my life. I’m really excited to be in the show. The cast has been really supportive of each other — we’re like a huge family.”

The musical opens tonight, Thursday, March 26, and finally gives the cast the chance to show off all the dance moves they’ve been working on to an audience outside “the family.”

“42nd Street” tells the story of a Broadway show within a Broadway show, set in the 1930s. Peggy dreams of show business — again, like Erica — but misses her audition.

That doesn’t sit well with the dictatorial director, Julian Marsh, played by senior Ben Rebstein. His character has been out of show business for a while, but hopes his show, “Pretty Lady,” puts him back on top.

“It’s a new character for me to take on, but it was easy to find him,” Ben said. “I’ve had a lot of smaller parts here and there, but this is my first large part. It’s a great opportunity.”

Lindsay Zimmerman, a junior, plays the role of Dorothy Brock, a seasoned diva of the theater that is nothing like the actress who plays her. For instance, Lindsay and her older sister, Kenzie, voluntarily taught fellow students how to tap dance last fall — dance numbers are a huge part of the show — to help them with auditions.

But, playing the role is a fun challenge for her.

“I consider myself to be a pretty nice person, but I love to go on stage and be mean to some of my friends,” she joked.

Christine Merkel, the show’s music director, and Katie Mooney, the art director, chose “42nd Street” because it is a classic with several classic tunes, such as “Lullaby of Broadway,” “We’re in the Money” and the title song. The show choreographer is Jessica Stevens, who graduated from Gates Chili two years ago and is studying at Nazareth College to be a music teacher.

The show leads — Erica, Lindsay, Ben and Dan Montgomery, who plays Billy Lawlor — and the rest of the cast have taken their roles seriously, Merkel said.

“For a lot of these kids, they love and dream of performing on Broadway,” she said. “This is tangible for them, and they enjoy taking on the show and these characters.”